Indian People*

Good morning! We recently came out with the college news magazine and the whole task was like Penelope’s web. At the end of it all, I felt like a zombie (robotic) and my students were in a daze (bewildered). By now, my students and I are of the opinion that the people who work for the newspapers are super humans. Imagine the mindboggling (unbelievable) speed with which they have to work day after day, the fresh ideas and the stories they come up with to keep the readers engrossed (occupied), it must be nerve wracking (tiring, exhausting)!

These three sentences that I’ve given below are funny but need correction. They were made by some of the CS students:

Indian people and Chinese people find it difficult to understand each other’s languages.

When I was divided from my parents, I was in sixes and sevens.

After the death of Gandhiji all the people of India were in the doldrums.

Okay, I shall take up each sentence and discuss it.

There is no need to say ‘Indian people and Chinese people’. For you can just say, “Indians and Chinese”—it means the same.

Here the usage of the word ‘divided’ is wrong, the right word would be ‘separate’. Though one of the synonyms of ‘divided’ is ‘separated’ even then the two cannot be interchanged. You have to remember that each word has its own connotation and can be completely out of place if not used correctly.

Instead of saying, ‘all the people of India’; only one word ‘Indians’ can be used.

Alright, in today’s article, I’ve used two idioms:

Penelope’s web: It means a never ending task

At sixes and sevens: This means a state of confusion. Originally this phrase was ‘to set on six and seven’ and it is said that it was taken from the game of chess, somewhere in the 14th or the 15th of century.

Last time, I discussed the embedded questions with you, today it will be the ‘yes/ no questions’ and the ‘rhetorical questions’.

The Yes/ No questions- These questions can be answered with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. They begin with an auxiliary verb or a modal verb.

Example: Do you have a pen? May we join you? Can you manage on your own?

You can answer each one of the above questions with a yes or a no.

The Rhetorical questions- These type of questions are used to emphasize a particular point. No reply is expected from such type of questions.

Example: For how long will we have to put up with this cunning man? What an injustice? Do I have to always tell you what to do?